Misha Stoutenbeek is the founder of the global artist community site Noenga. I recently had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about this community of artists.

Please give a little background on the Global Art Community Noenga.

The Noenga art community was founded in 2006. It started as an international network of artists unsatisfied with the physical traditional art world. They felt that the current art market system keeps artists poor and limits the possibilities for many talented people. The demand for quality online art promotion seemed so big that I decided to take it to the next level and started developing Noenga together with my Spanish business associate Jordi Samarra.

Noenga wants to innovate the art world. At Noenga we envision a new art market model driven by social media technology in which the artist reaches out to the public directly without interference or obstacles of any kind.

In the regular gallery/museum-world and art market a select group of curators and the like determines what is art and what is not. They decide what the people may see and buy. This is ok when it concerns historical cultural heritage. When it concerns art however, these curators are a self-appointed authorities, limiting the opportunities for many artists. Noenga wants to square up this elite interference and open up the art-world. Now the community can choose itself thanks to new and interactive selection methods.

Established members of the art-world will reject this method to protect their own territory with the argument that amateurs will not be able to make the right choice. Noenga defies this, claiming that thousands of curators cannot be wrong.

What are the features of Noenga which would interest online artists?

The Noenga community focuses on feedback and interaction between artists based on each other’s work. For this we have created a unique art valuation system. This system can be a powerful alternative form of recognition to the traditional art world.

Noenga also hosts the biggest and most successful art networking groups on LinkedIn in both the English and Spanish language which creates new dynamics and opportunities.

Here artists can connect with art professionals from all over the world.

Do you have any plans for the future, such as added features?

Our plans for the future are all about mobile. Currently we see that good promotional art applications are very scarce in the mobile ecosystem so that’s what we are working on right now. We want to be able to offer our artists the best mobile promotional opportunities out there.

Would you like to share some advice for artists who use the internet for art promotion?

During the years the most dominant topic and question in our community has always been How to sell art online. To be successful with Noenga we are most interested in what truly works for artists and what not. After all, if we can make our community of artists achieve its goals, it will be good for Noenga as well. So therefore I would love to share a successful audio blog of mine which contains loads of practical tips on how to sell art online. It also shares valuable insights, experience and conclusions after many active years in the art world:

Please tell us how artists can join, and setup their profile at Noenga.

Joining Noenga is easy and most of all 100% Free. There are no hidden charges or fees for additional services.

The process of setting up your profile can be compared to a any social media platform.